Quebec's anti-corruption unit gets its powers boosted, despite internal woes
Bill 107 gives greater jurisdiction to UPAC, the Crown prosecutor and the BEI
Quebec's National Assembly has adopted a bill that gives more wide-ranging powers to the province's anti-corruption unit (UPAC), which is currently embroiled in scandal.
The Liberal government's Bill 107 was passed Wednesday by a vote of 61-49. While Liberal MNAs voted in favour of the bill, opposition parties refused to throw their support behind it.
Under the bill, UPACis officially recognized asa specialized police force and given a wider scope ofjurisdiction when it comes to investigating suspected cases of corruption and collusion.
"UPACwill have the same tools as all other policeforces, but also the same obligations related to law enforcement," said Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux.
The bill comes as UPAC has been the source of controversies in recent months after classified information from its most sensitive investigations was leaked to the media.
The unitwas also heavily criticized after it arrested but failed to charge Liberal MNAGuy Ouellettelast October.
Coiteux said the bill won't fix the unit overnight, but that thechanges are a step in the right direction.
"It contains key ingredients to help improvethe situation," he said Wednesday.
As its own police force, the unit will also no longer have to go through the Sretdu Qubecor Montreal police to access certain information.
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, UPAC said the changes marked an "important addition in the fight against corruption in Quebec."
Demands from opposition parties fall flat
Opposition partieshad asked for the bill to be amended before it went to vote in order to change how a director is selected for UPAC.
The Parti Qubcois, Qubec Solidaireand Coalition Avenir Qubec proposed that the head of the unit should be appointed with at least two-thirds of the vote by the National Assembly.
"We're confident about that position and we defended it to the very end,"said Coiteux.
"It was the only real cause of disagreement with the opposition parties."
PQ Leader Jean-Franois Lisesaid that if his party is elected to power in the upcoming provincial election, it will replaceRobert Lafrenire asthe head of the anti-corruption squad.
"The bad decision is to give more power to managers that have proven they are bad managers of UPAC," he said. "It is the Liberals' mistake to do that."
More powers for BEI, DPCP
Bill 107 will also give greaterpowers tothe independent bureau of investigations (BEI), which investigates police shootings, and the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP).
The BEInow has the responsibility to investigate sexual misconduct allegations committed by police officers in the scope of their work functions.
Under the bill, the DPCPwill now have room to negotiate when itcomes to striking deals with important witnesses who choose to collaborate with investigators.
With files from Radio-Canada